Couple Reunited with Vinyl Record from 1966 Wedding After It Was Found at Thrift Store

Mar. 15, 2025

person holding record — stock image.Photo:Getty

Woman composing at home.

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A Denver couple gota sweet surprisejust after their 58th wedding anniversary.

Dr. Phil Schmidt and Donna Packer married in Los Altos Hills, Calif. on Aug. 21, 1966. For their wedding, the then-college students had their vows and other memorable moments from that day preserved onto a vinyl record.

Phil previously spent over 40 years there, working as a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Once his tenure was up, he and Packer relocated to a retirement community in Denver.

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Austin resident Katie Ornelas found the record when she bought what she thought wasThe Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn, a live album recorded in 1956. Instead, she ended up with “Phil’s and Donna’s Wedding.”

Ornelas didn’t mind the mixup and began her quest to try and track down the rightful owners.

“We celebrated our 58th Anniversary last August,” Donna told the news station. “What a gift for us to have this recording back in time for our 59th next year!”

source: people.com